Lighting systems are presently used comprising an individual or a group of lights for illuminating a large variety of objects. Typically, the lights are arranged in a linear row for decorative, advertising or safety purposes. The row of lights may be attached to a wire string such as the string of lights seen at used car lots or used for Christmas decorating. However, a string of lights of this type is limited in usefulness due to the difficulty of attaching the string of lights to various structures.
Strips of lights may also be used wherein they are attached to surfaces such as doorways and windows for decorative or safety purposes. Additionally, billboard signs often use strips of lights to illuminate the billboard signs at night. However, these lighting systems are limited in that these types of lights often are inflexible in their design and often require permanent mounting to the attached structure.
Several prior art attempts at providing flexible light strips exist, although all suffer from significant drawbacks. For example, a flexible lighting product known as flex-a-light available from Capitol Lighting Products is circular in cross section and accordingly is difficult, if not impossible, to adhere directly to a surface such as a sign, window, door frame or other surface to which the lighting product is desire to be adhered. Additionally, and most importantly, the product must be cut exactly at predetermined intervals or regions in order to avoid damaging a light emitting device or the circuitry interconnecting each of the light emitting devices.
Another product available from Capitol Lighting Products and well known in the prior art is Belt Lighting which includes a flat piece of conductive material on which are installed lamp sockets into which are inserted small bulbs. This product suffers from significant drawbacks in that the lamps are exposed to the elements and that they are very susceptible to damage by wind, water, etc. Additionally, the belt light must be adhered to a surface using an externally applied fastening mechanism such as tape, epoxy or a mounting device inserted through holes in the strip. Accordingly, these limitations greatly limit the useability of this product.
Lastly, and most importantly, both prior art products disclosed utilize lighting devices drawing significant current which greatly limits the length of available strips of lighting material to approximately thirty feet.
Accordingly, what is needed is a nearly unlimited length of flexible, self-adhesive light elements which can be mounted easily, in any desired form or design, by cutting or shaping the flexible length of lights, for decorative, advertising and safety purposes. Further, a length of lights is needed which may provide a constant source of light or a flashing or intermittent source of light.